My short 7 months in med school have taught me a lot of things, both book stuff and otherwise. I've learned a lot about myself. In no particular order, the things I've learned the most:
1. You can't study all the time. I mean, you can...but you'll end up like the creepy kid that sits two rows in front of you. The days I remember the most from last semester are
not the days that I spent in the library studying. They are the days that were different--the days that we built a slip n'slide in the backyard and the days that we played flag football (and loss, boo!).
2. Not everyone will understand. While you will have many friends ask you how med school is, the only response you can give that they will understand is "it's a lot of work". Because no one can really understand the sheer
volume of information you cram into your head on a daily basis. You will have friends that can relate more than other friends. You will have classmates that will understand. But you can't explain to them how it feels to study for a week, only to get a C. You can't explain what it's like to spend 15+ hours a week with a dead person. You can't explain how this is everything you've ever wanted and yet you're so unsure of that at the same time. Not everyone will understand why you can't hang out with them every Friday night. Your family won't understand when you can only spend Thanksgiving day with them, instead of the whole break, because
ohmygod there are three tests in five days next week. Not everyone will get it. And that's okay, they don't have to.
3. You need friends that aren't in medicine. You need people that you can hang out with that don't understand. You need to be able to hang out with people who aren't in med school, who aren't your competition, who can carry on normal conversations about normal things. Or people that you can sit in complete silence with and not feel awkward. Those people will get you through the really, really bad days.
4. You need your family. Even though they won't get it (see #3), they are only people who are
required to love you, even at your worst. They are the ones who will tell you that they are proud of you, that will rejoice with you in your triumphs, and fake that your downfalls aren't
so bad. They will provide you with highlighters and dinners when you need them the most, and surprise you with small gifts in the mail that will be a bright spot in the midst of terrible days.
5. You need to be plugged in to something. Whether it's an organization (off-campus), or a church, you need to be involved in something bigger than you and the world of medicine.
6. You can't always study alone. Med school is lonely and sometimes you just gotta get out of the house or the library. One of my favorite places to study is Starbucks. Besides the fact that I like to creep on other people's conversations, it puts everything in to perspective. The rest of the world is carrying on, even though your head is in a book. Life is still going on around you.
7. You will inevitably sacrifice parts of your life for medicine. You get to be the judge of which parts stay and which parts go.
8. Everyone fails at something. Everyone. Maybe the creepy kid two rows in front of you didn't fail the latest test because he studied all day every day for a month straight, but he has failed at something, too. If you never have failure, the success won't feel as great.
9. What works for everyone else probably won't work for you. It's taken me a long time to come to terms with this. While everyone can study a certain way, I cannot. And that's okay. It doesn't make me any worse or better than they are, it just makes us different. 90% of med school is figuring out what works for you.
10. Thank the ones who are behind you. I wouldn't be where I am without everyone who has stood behind me the whole way through this journey. I have three pictures on my desk--one of my college roommates, one of my best friend, and one of my parents and brother. When the going gets rough, I look at those pictures and think about everything they have done for me to help me get to this point. My college roommates listened to me whine about how much I hated Cell Biology, encouraged me through interview season, and celebrated with me when I got accepted to med school. My best friend is now my go-to "you're not in med school, let's hang out" person, and of course, my family has done the most for me. When I have really bad days, I think about all of them, and realize that while I am doing this for me, I couldn't be doing it without them.
